Good video, thanks for sharing. I've been wondering if there's a way I can get my husband to do an oral history. He's 78 and I love hearing his stories about his early gay experiences, having come out at 12.

He doesn't admit to any real personal horror stories, other than his father kicking him out of the house. And the police raids of gay bars & clubs, but he never got arrested or roughed-up. He was living with a partner by 21, broke up after 12 years, had another for 16 years who died, and I'm his third.

The Mafia owned the gay bars in Boston, the police paid off so the raids weren't too frequent. But also using secret signals when an undercover vice cop was detected in the place, and going to dances with a girlfriend "decoy" who'd quickly swap places with his boyfriend on the dance floor when a raid did happen. And many more stories like that.

Yet he apparently didn't live much of a double life, fairly out for the period, and I find that interesting, too. He's very comfortable being gay. But then he's mainly lived in Boston & South Florida.

ART_DECO saidGood video, thanks for sharing. I've been wondering if there's a way I can get my husband to do an oral history. He's 78 and I love hearing his stories about his early gay experiences, having come out at 12.

He doesn't admit to any real personal horror stories, other than his father kicking him out of the house. And the police raids of gay bars & clubs, but he never got arrested or roughed-up. He was living with a partner by 21, broke up after 12 years, had another for 16 years who died, and I'm his third.

The Mafia owned the gay bars in Boston, the police paid off so the raids weren't too frequent. But also using secret signals when an undercover vice cop was detected in the place, and going to dances with a girlfriend "decoy" who'd quickly swap places with his boyfriend on the dance floor when a raid did happen. And many more stories like that.

Yet he apparently didn't live much of a double life, fairly out for the period, and I find that interesting, too. He's very comfortable being gay. But then he's mainly lived in Boston & South Florida.

At age 12 ???? That has me beat by three years. As with Carmine, I can't say that I really had much trouble in spite of really pushing the 'limits' sometimes. Of course it was pretty hard to get into much trouble in Columbus.

Stonewall to a great extent and Woodstock to a lesser extent is what prompted me to bust down the doors and out myself at what I thought was a very young age and very early. Carmine clearly has me beat!